This will ensure you have a good understanding before moving
onto the next steps.

This article you give you a better understanding
of how to program your training. One of the biggest mistakes
I see most gyms goers make is that they are either training too
hard, too easy or too inconsistently to produce their desired
result. Great results don't come from one or two good workouts;
they come from consistent training and by following an effective
program.

1. Stimulate don't
annihilate

In the picture I have outlined the Super Compensation Principle;
this outlines the ideal training times needed to maximise
results.

The beginning phase is the workout you are doing right
now. The optimal time to repeat a particular workout would be
48-72hrs, and the too late section is anything 7 days +. The
blue coloured line refers to someone recovering too early from
their workout; this shows the individual did not reach their
true Muscular Overload Potential.

The purple line shows someone who trained too hard and
subsequently required a full week to recover from their
session.

The green line shows someone who trained at the optimum
intensity, and fully recovered 48-72 hours after their session.
This shows that they worked their bodies systems to their full
capacity; and also ensured enough recovery time to continually
produce optimal results and to be able to effectively maintain a
consistent routine of training thereby making small improvements
week by week.

2. Recover, recover,
recover

After reading point number 1 I hope we can agree that recovery
is vitally important in order to be able to consistently
produce results whatever your goal. However, the question then
becomes how we can maximise on recovery?

Ensure adequate warm up prior to
exercise - this does not mean static stretching;
which when done prior to exercise has actually been shown to
increase the chance of an injury occurring. A warm up should
consist of a small amount of dynamic stretching + warm up drills of
the exercise that you are about to undertake. For example:
Squats - do some light bodyweight or weight squats before
beginning your high intensity segment; ensuring full range of
movement and proper use of technique. For an activity such as
running; a light jog depending on distance would be
appropriate.

Ensure adequate cool down post session -
Stretching is a vital part of optimising post session recovery. The
tighter your muscles are the more restricted your blood flow will
be, this will decrease the chance of your muscles fully
recovering in the optimal window. In an ideal world, you would
stretch for at least half the time you trained, however for most
people this is unrealistic. I would strongly recommended going
through some basic stretches through the muscle groups worked;
holding them for a minimum of 20-30seconds. I am sorry but 2
seconds won't do very much..

Now I am sure you could think of more, however rather than try
to implement everything at once try first to implement these things
effectively. It is better to do one thing well than 10 things
poorly!

3. Have a Master plan

Your long term programing is a vital part of your long term
results. Remember there are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going,
therefore whatever your goal please be prepared to invest a
realistic amount of time on a long term basis. You are better off
training twice per week for the rest of your life, than training 14
times a week for the next month.

What I am referring to when saying a Master plan is a plan that
is based off your long term goals of 12 months or longer, not a 30
day squat challenge. When putting together your own Master
plan I would strongly recommend putting some time aside to think
about where you want your health and fitness to be in 12
months from now and what lifestyle you would like to have. There is
no point creating a very time consuming program if realistically
you can only exercise 2-3 times per week.

If you would like some help creating your plan or if you have
any further questions please do not hesitate to call/text me
on: